


Winter Wanderland

by PhoenixRising360



Category: NCIS
Genre: Adventure, Case Fic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-10 22:26:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5603230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixRising360/pseuds/PhoenixRising360
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Investigating crime in a psych ward isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially when one of those doing the investigating ends up a bit cracked himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [K9Lasko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/K9Lasko/gifts).



> This was written for the NFA Secret Santa story exchange. The summary was the prompt I was given.

Tony DiNozzo exited the elevator whistling Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. As he dropped his bag in its customary spot, he grinned at Ellie and Tim and did a belly laugh. "Good morning, ho ho ho!"

Tim's eyes glanced Tony up and down even as he chuckled. "Santa impersonation needs work, Tony. You forgot the long, gray beard and the belly."

"And the red suit," Ellie cut in with a smirk.

"All in good time, my elf lord and Ellie-elf. The suit is being dry cleaned, working on the beard." He reached up and ran a hand over his clean-shaven face. The grin did not diminish in the least.

"And the belly?"

"Eeeehhhh," Tony smirked. "Santa had to lose weight so he wouldn't have a heart attack and die before all the presents got delivered. All those cookies and milk will do a guy in."

Ellie and Tim both chuckled for a second before Ellie said, "So what's up, Tony? You're in a good mood." Ellie grinned at him.

"Why yes, I am," he grinned wider as he sat down, punched the power button on his computer and sat back, putting his feet up. "It's almost Christmas, I can smell wood burning fireplaces, all my Christmas shopping is done. We're not on call this year on Christmas Day and Senior said we would spend Christmas together. A real Christmas. What more could I possibly ask for?"

"That's great, Tony," Tim smiled. "Are you cooking too?"

"Zoe is. I'll schlep for her though she said she's going to get Senior to schlep for her too." Tony chuckled at the thought.

"So Zoe isn't going to be with her parents for Christmas?"

"They're going on a cruise, some Caribbean thing. They want to get away from winter. They wanted Zoe to go with them but she has to be back at work the day after."

"Can't say I blame them," Ellie said. "Lots of snow this year already."

Tony responded by whistling Winter Wonderland making Tim, Ellie and several others in the bullpen smile.

"DiNozzo!" the familiar growl disrupted his happy tune. "You're gonna be whistling Dixie if you don't get to work."

"On it, Boss."

A look of annoyance crossed Tim's face as he watched Gibbs go to his desk but he didn't say anything. He looked over at Tony and the annoyance dissipated and was replaced with a small smile. "I'm glad to see you happy, Tony," he said quietly.

"Thanks, Tim. I'm going for coffee since our favorite second B isn't caffeinated enough. Anyone want anything?"

All three of them held out money for coffee though Gibbs glared at him while he did. Tony disarmed him with a brilliant smile and though Tony didn't voice it, he could've swore he saw the corners of Gibbs' lips twitch like the man wanted to smile. As Tony walked away from their section of the bullpen, he started whistling Winter Wonderland again until the elevator door closing silenced him.

"Grab your gear," the familiar order rang out almost an hour after Tony returned with their coffees. All of them gulped the last of their drinks and simultaneously, three cups were dropped in their respective wastebaskets, Gibbs already having finished his. As they headed out, Gibbs sent Tim to drive the truck before he lightly cuffed Tony on the back of his head.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"General principle."

Tony grinned and started whistling Dixie.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, where are we going, Boss?" Tony asked as Gibbs maneuvered the slick streets.

"Veterans Psychiatric Hospital. Dead Marine."

Tony groaned. "Psych hospital? Great. Nothing like a building full of unreliable witnesses with questionable sanity. Here's hoping it's natural causes." Gibbs stole a glance at him but otherwise didn't comment.

Ducky and Palmer arrived at almost the same time as the team did.

"Palmer, did you finally learn to use the GPS?" Tony smirked.

"No, I just knew how to get here."

"Never mind, I don't want to know." Tony grinned at him and then ran to catch up with the team. It took only a few minutes for them to find their way to the room that held the deceased Marine.

"Oh, thank God," they heard a male voice exclaim seconds before an upset-appearing man in a suit rushed over to them. The man's gaze flitted around to each of them before settling on Gibbs. "You're in charge?"

"Special Agent Gibbs. Special Agents DiNozzo, McGee and Bishop," he pointed to each in turn.

The man nodded. "Dr. Robert Morgan. I'm Director of Patient Care here."

Gibbs nodded. "Who is our Marine?"

"Lance Corporal James Park. Nurse found him when she was dispensing medication." He directed them to the room.

"Anyone touch the body?" Tony asked.

"Nurse said she checked for a pulse but didn't touch anything else. I called the police. They called you." Mr. Morgan lowered his voice, his countenance upset. "This is the first time a patient has died while under our care."

Gibbs didn't comment. He turned to his agents and jerked his head toward the room and the three fell into their traditional roles starting the investigation. Tim and Tony, of course, needed no further direction, but ready to guide their probie as needed.

Tim looked around the window. "No entry or exit through the window. Sealed."

"Most hospitals are, McGeek."

McGee rolled his eyes. "Rule 8, DiNozzo."

Tony stopped sketching for a moment. He studied the body in the bed before he resumed his sketching. Tony couldn't see any trauma. The man simply looked asleep, like he would wake up any moment. He didn't look like a dead man. It gave him hope this was natural causes, even though the man in the bed looked far too young to be dead.

Ducky's frown and tutting confirmed Tony's thoughts. "No visible signs of trauma," Ducky murmured.

"He looks asleep," Jimmy said with a smile on his face. "He's just going to wake up any moment now and say, 'Surprise! Just kidding! I'm not dead!'" Four sets of eyes turned to him with a pointed stare. "Right, sorry. He…just looks so peaceful."

"Should we all be so fortunate to die as peacefully." Ducky sighed.

Gibbs entered the room. "What do ya got, Duck?"

"Our unfortunate gentleman here died approximately two hours ago so around 7 to 7:30 a.m. No obvious cause of death so we shall have to look deeper."

Gibbs nodded. Tony watched while they moved the body. "Wait a second, Ducky!" Tony spoke up. "Look at the hairline, near his left ear." Ducky turned his head and brushed Park's hair back where the Marine hair cut had started to grow out. Right at the hairline there was a small, circular, slightly reddened bump. Bishop swooped in and took a photo of it. "Good eye, Anthony. I shall take a closer look at this when we get him home," Ducky promised as he and Jimmy strapped him down to the gurney and wheeled him out.

The room was small so it took almost no time at all to process.

Tony found the nurse who had delivered the patient's medication, Gloria Sanchez, a middle-aged woman with a few streaks of gray in her hair. Her countenance was upset and concerned and she seemed happy to unburden herself when Tony asked her what happened.

"I normally start the medication round at 7:00 but I had to help Monica - she's another nurse here - with another patient. I reached Mr. Park's room at 7:45 and found him dead."

"Did you see anyone enter or leave his room at anytime?"

She shook her head no. "I was in and out of rooms but it would've been difficult for someone to get in here. The main doors are locked. You have to have a badge to scan in and out."

"Any badges come up missing lately?"

She shook her head no. "None that I know of but I only work the overnight shift. I see the day shift when they first get in but I usually leave shortly thereafter so no time to talk."

"Did Mr. Park mention any problems with anyone?"

"No. He was a quiet man."

"Why was he here, Ms. Sanchez?"

"Post-traumatic stress disorder. Served in Afghanistan, I think. I don't know all the details of what he went through over there, just that he had terrible nightmares. Sometimes he'd wake up screaming for people to run."

"Did he interact with any of the other patients?"

She nodded. "Group meetings every day. He met with a few of the other PTSD patients. You'd have to talk to Dr. Davis about that though. He runs the PTSD group. I don't know who he spoke to at those meetings, if anyone."

"Any friends here?"

Again, she shook her head no. "He would become agitated with too much conversation. He didn't like to talk about his experiences. That's common. He just wanted peace and quiet."

"What about overnight? Anything unusual happen last night? Anything different?"

"No, nothing. It was very routine."

"You said earlier you had a patient that was agitated? What was wrong with him?"

"I…uh, I don't believe I'm supposed to discuss such things. Patient confidentiality."

Tony smiled the smile that had disarmed more than one witness. "Ma'am, I understand you want to respect your patients' privacy but we're investigating the death that may or may not be natural. We need all the information we can get to figure this out."

"Oh yes, of course. Well, the patient in question has PTSD so he's often on edge."

"His name?"

"Brian Fuller."

Does he know Lance Corporal Park?"

"They attended group meetings together though I don't think they knew each other beyond that."

"What is discussed in the group meetings?"

"I don't attend the meetings. You would have to ask Dr. Davis about that. He runs the group meetings."

"Will do. Did Mr. Fuller leave his room at anytime during the night?"

Gloria shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of. You would need to check with Monica because she responded to him first. I know he hasn't left the room since we calmed him down enough to go back to sleep. Since he has nightmares so often, we try to keep an eye on him."

"When did you finally leave his room?"

"It was a little after 7. As I said, I got a late start dispensing the medications."

Dr. Davis was not much more helpful than Gloria Sanchez. The group meetings were difficult for many of those who had it because while it was a safe place to discuss their traumas, few actually wanted to talk about them. Those who did usually benefited but there were always a few who found it difficult to talk about their experiences. Mr. Fuller had no known connection to James Park other than attendance of the group meetings. Dr. Davis had said that as far as he knew, the two men had had no interactions outside the group meeting and didn't speak to each other in the group meetings.

Tony returned to the room in thought. He hadn't had the sense that Gloria or Dr. Davis had been lying and his gut told him that they probably weren't.

"Hey guys, check this out," Ellie held up a piece of fabric with tweezers. "Park was wearing blue boxer briefs and a blue t-shirt. I can't find anything in here that matches this shade of green." Ellie snapped a couple of photos of it before picking it up and bagging it.

"Find anything else?"

"Nothing. I think we're done here. We have several sets of prints."

"Okay, we need to pull security footage."

"On it," Tim said and left the room.

Tony grabbed the box of evidence. "Come on, Bish, let's…"

Tony never got to finish the sentence because a man's blood-curdling scream echoed down the corridor. Tony tore out of the room ordering Ellie to stay with the evidence. Tony ran toward the source of the scream.

"I knew it! I knew it! They found me! I told you so. I told you so but you wouldn't believe me! Why won't you people ever listen!" The man collapsed to the floor and sobbed.

Tony stopped short of the man in the corridor. He was older with graying hair and straggly beard, unkempt, complete with bed-head and clearly hysterical.

"Mr. Millner," one of the nurses spoke quietly to him. "Mr. Millner!" she repeated a little more loudly to be heard above his wracked sobs.

Instantly, the man was on his feet and backed into his room like prey trying to get away. "Don't let them take me away!" He slammed the door in the nurse's face and they heard something hit the door like the man slumped against it to keep them out.

Tony rolled his eyes. This was like something out of a bad B movie. He looked at the nurse. "Who is that?"

"Kevin Millner. He's been here for a few weeks. He is a paranoid schizophrenic. His wife had him committed after he boarded all the windows and door shut, trapping them inside. He's convinced the government is trying to lock him and his family up."

"Don't they have medications for that?"

"Yes, but he refuses to take them. He says that's the government's way to keep him under their heel. He tries to escape every other day. Poor man. Seeing you here is just going to make his treatment more difficult."

"Has he shown tendencies toward violence?"

"Only toward himself. He has not struck out at anyone else."

"I'd like to talk to him."

The nurse's jaw dropped. "You did just see him now, right? He's far too agitated. Trying to talk to him will only make him worse."

"He might know something we don't."

"You will have to ask Dr. Morgan but he's not going to let you."

It took some convincing to both the nurse and Dr. Morgan but Tony was finally granted permission to speak with Mr. Millner. By then, he had calmed down some only to visibly appear apprehensive as soon as the nurse and Tony stepped into the room.

"No, no, no! He's one of them!" The man curled in on himself in the corner of the room.

"Mr. Millner?" Tony spoke softly. "My name is Tony. May I speak to you for a moment?"

"Go away! You're one of them. I won't let you take me!"

Tony held his hands up in an expression of surrender. "No, Mr. Millner. I'm not here to take you anywhere. I was hoping you might be able to help me."

"I will never help you take someone else. Get out!"

"Mr. Millner, I'm from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The only people we 'take' are bad people who commit crimes. No one else. As far as I know, you haven't committed any crimes but I was hoping you might be able to help me figure out if someone did." He squatted down to be at eye level with the man and adopted a humble posture. "Sir, I just want to keep good people safe from bad people but I need help in order to do that." Tony soothing tone of voice seemed to calm the agitated man some. Doubt flashed across his face. "Please, Mr. Millner? You're obviously a very intelligent person and I thought you could help…that you would want to help. My job is to protect good people from bad people."

"You-you think there's a bad person here?"

"I don't know but I was hoping you could help me figure out if there was."

Tony felt his momentary hopefulness fade as the man's countenance change as doubt flooded his face and then contort back to panic. "You're tricking me! NO! Go away! Go away! Go away!" He covered his head with his arms as though it would prevent him from being seen and Tony's shoulders sagged and he stood up to leave. As Tony turned toward the door to leave the man alone, he got the surprise of his morning as he found himself knocked off balance as Mr. Millner launched himself at Tony and Tony felt the full weight of the muscled man launched at him. He stumbled backward and crashed into the wall, knocking a painting off of it. In almost an instant, two orderlies and two nurses pulled the man off of Tony and administered a sedative as the man wailed.

Tony remained against the wall for a moment, momentarily stunned by the unexpected attack. Once he caught his breath, he straightened, took a deep breath and quietly but quickly left the room in order to not further agitate.

Gibbs stood outside the door, his arms folded, watching Tony's every move.

Tony looked at Gibbs, gave a self-deprecating smile. "Well, that went well." Tony brushed himself off.

"You alright?" Gibbs looked him over with a critical eye.

"I'm fine, Boss. Hoped he might have seen something or heard something that could help us figure out what happened to Park."

"Get the names of all the patients and employees and see if any of them have any outside connection with Park. They're not going to let us talk to any other patients after this."

Tony felt a twinge of guilt over that fact being his fault but he had been so sure that Millner might've had a clue about what might've happened to Park. He counted it as a win that Gibbs hadn't head slapped him for being a dumbass. Maybe Gibbs had agreed and thought it was worth a try. For a moment he thought he was going to be able to talk to the man. Chalking it up as a good attempt, he requested and received the lists before going back to Park's room to find Bishop again speaking with Dr. Morgan. He took one last once over of the room to be sure Bishop didn't miss anything but his probie was nothing if not a perfectionist and as far as he could see, she had even moved the bedside table to check under it for evidence.

"Where's McGee?"

"Haven't seen him since he went to get the security footage."

Tony nodded and called McGee who said he was almost done.

Gibbs appeared as Tony and Ellie exited the room. "We done here then, Boss?" Tony felt twitchy all over, just ready to get out of there.

Gibbs nodded. "As soon as McGee gets the security tapes."


	3. Chapter 3

The trip back to the Navy Yard was quiet. Tony's back ached a little from where he hit the wall and he could still feel the remnants of the solid weight of the man that had crashed into him. Tony kept his face a careful mask but inside, he felt shaken…not stirred, he silently added, smiling a little at the James Bond reference. The small smile quickly faded as he remembered the wild, crazed look in the man's eyes and felt the weight of impact all over again. He shivered involuntarily. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Gibbs glance over at him but he pretended not to notice. Instead, he stared out the window, his eyes idly glossing over the snow-caked cars and slushy roads.

Yeah, okay, talking to that guy probably wasn't the smartest thing he ever did, but he wanted to solve this case as soon as possible. He hoped against hope that Ducky would say it was some natural cause though the Lance Corporal was so young, he highly doubted it. He felt off-balance. He normally wouldn't have been affected by being attacked on the job. In fact, he half-expected it. This time was different. This wasn't some random perp, guilty of something, attacking him in order to get away. This was someone who was very ill, unable to make good decisions or even use logic. Tony felt sorry for the man. The fact that his behavior vaguely reminded him a little of his mother's behavior before she died had…

He slammed the door on that line of thought. Now was not the time to think about that. Christmas was hard enough to get through and this one promised to be a happy Christmas and he wouldn't let anything spoil it, certainly not a mentally ill patient who reminded him a little of his mother. A flash of his mother drinking his sea monkeys popped into his mind and he shuddered, seeing all over again the wild look in her eyes. The more he tried to block it out, the more clearly he saw it, first through the eyes of himself as a child and then through the eyes of an adult. He remembered before that she had been drinking heavily, he recalled seeing an empty bottle of liquor but he couldn't remember what she had drank, if he ever knew. Drunk. She had been really drunk. That would explain craziness. People always did crazy things when they were drunk. It didn't mean she was mentally ill the way Millner was.

He sighed. All he really wanted was for this case to be wrapped up so he could forget all about crazy people. He also resolved to lay off on the alcohol this Christmas.

Try as he might, he couldn't get Mr. Millner out of his mind, seeing the crazed look in his eyes, his paranoia that someone was out to get him. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you, Tony thought, remembering Catch-22, the movie and the book. There was probably no one after him but then again, a man did turn up dead so maybe someone was after Park.

He shook his head from his thoughts. He should be thinking about Lance Corporal Park, not Mr. Millner. It was then he realized, cringing, that he forgot the man's first name. He knew he'd asked his name and that the nurse had answered but for the life of him, he couldn't remember it. Brian? After a moment, he recalled that Brian was the patient with nightmares. He drew a blank. It wasn't like him to be off his game. He ran a hand down his face. This shouldn't have disconcerted him quite so much.

Tony sighed. Maybe it was the wild, crazed look in his eyes. He hadn't felt scared of the man, he was clearly ill and the staff had sedated him fairly quickly. Still though, he should've found out more about him. What if he had killed their Lance Corporal?

At least Millner's name would be on the list he obtained from the hospital so maybe he could cover his lapse.

"You alright, DiNozzo?" Gibbs broke the tense silence.

"Yeah, Boss. I'm fine."

"Too quiet to be fine."

Tony didn't have an answer to that. Maybe if he'd been with Tim or Ellie he'd have talked more but he'd worked with Gibbs for so long he didn't feel always need to fill the silence. Come to think of it, the only time he did was when he was in a good mood. Gibbs always saw right through him anyway.

He shifted in his seat a little and realized his lower legs and feet were cold. He frowned. He reached over and adjusted the heat so hot air blew over his feet and lower legs.

A few minutes later, Gibbs broke the silence again. "You sure you're alright?"

Tony sighed. "I really am fine, Boss. My back aches a little from hitting the wall and my feet are cold, no big deal. Was just thinking about the case." Okay, that wasn't entirely true but it was close enough to the truth.

Gibbs dropped it but Tony could feel that Gibbs' attention was on him even as the man drove. Not for the first time, he vaguely wondered how Gibbs did that. When they reached the Navy Yard, Tony felt like he was thawing out and he headed back upstairs while Tim and Ellie took the evidence to Abby and Gibbs went to get coffee. Tony immediately started in on the list of patients, starting with Kevin…Yes, that was it, Kevin Millner, looking for a connection between him and Lance Corporal Park.

He wasn't surprised that there was no obvious connection. Deep down, he hadn't really thought there would be. As Tony moved on to other patients, he noticed his feet and lower legs were still cold, maybe not quite as cold as they were before he turned up the heat in the car but still colder than usual. His hands were cold too, he realized and frowned. He looked out the window and snow was coming down, creating a curtain of white. Not surprising as it was a week before Christmas and turning into a wet snowy week at that. With a sigh, he stood up and put his suit jacket back on. He probably needed to eat too. That would warm him up. Funny though, he didn't feel particularly hungry. He ordered a late lunch, getting everyone's favorites to be delivered and settled in to wait to be called by security.

Ellie and Tim returned from downstairs and Tony told them there was nothing on Millner or Fuller. Tim started delving into Park's background and Ellie watched the security video.

When lunch arrived, Tony went down to get it and noted the achiness in his body. Maybe he had hit the wall harder than he thought. His hands felt colder too. He really needed food, remembering that his light breakfast was hours ago. Grateful for the tray of drinks, all large, he realized he was thirsty too. He frowned a little. Not like him to not realize hunger or thirst. On the other hand, it had been one heck of a morning so maybe that wasn't so surprising.

Once lunch was distributed, Tony finished off his drink before he was even half through with his meal and he rinsed out the cup and filled it with water. Ellie gave him an amused grin. "Thirsty?"

"A little," he grinned a little.

Gibbs returned soon after and smirked a little at seeing lunch on his desk. He ate without commenting, knowing it was too soon to expect them to have much information, plus they were still waiting on cause of death.

The rest of the day was filled with research, background checks. Ellie went over the security footage carefully and it was around 4:30 when she reported that she couldn't find anything to suspect foul play. She had verified that only authorized personnel were there; no employees there who weren't marked as having the day off and all admitted patients accounted for.

Gibbs huffed at hearing this news. Ducky had started the autopsy but not enough time had passed for any results except to say that he had inspected the spot Tony pointed out and it was merely an acne pustule. Abby was backlogged with evidence from another team so she hadn't even started on their case yet.

"Go home," Gibbs ordered. "Nothing more we can do tonight."

Tim and Ellie wasted no time leaving since it was so rare they got out by 5 o'clock but Tony stayed at his desk, his finger idly curling around his mouse wheel at intervals, searching for something.

"DiNozzo?"

"Yeah, Boss?" Tony responded automatically without looking up.

"Ya deaf? I said go home."

"Almost done here, Boss. Just finishing up background on this one."

Gibbs let it go but Tony felt his eyes on him. He usually liked it when Gibbs paid attention to him, but right now, he couldn't help but wish Gibbs was ignoring him. He'd done a little research on paranoid schizophrenia since Kevin Millner wasn't the only one at the hospital who had it and felt the rush of empathy. It must be terrible to live like that. He couldn't imagine it, didn't want to imagine it.

Tony remembered what Park looked like. He was in plain clothes but he did have a Marine haircut that looked like it was just starting to grow out. He wondered if Miller thought since he was a Marine he was coming for him and killed him. There was no evidence pointing to that yet but without having more information, it'd be impossible to know. Still, if there was foul play, that's an angle that would need following up. Tony wrote that idea down as well as a couple of questions on his notepad to be explored later once more information was available. They'd have to wait for Ducky and Abby.

Finally, Tony shut down his computer and got ready to go. He was still cold and he noted a little dizziness when he stood up as well as some of the residual achiness from earlier. It'd been a long day. Of course, he'd been sitting on his butt in front of the computer all afternoon, which can't be good for anybody. He looked out the window where dusk had fallen but the snow was still coming down. It'd been snowing all day so a run would be out of the question. Maybe he could run over to the Y and see if there was a pickup basketball game in the gym, then maybe see if Zoe was around, get dinner, maybe curl up in bed and watch one of the many holiday movies he liked to watch every year and Zoe had promised to watch at least some of them with him. Sounded like a perfect way to warm up and take his mind off work.

"Night, Boss." Tony waved as he headed toward the elevator, not taking offense when there was no response.

Tony glanced upward as he walked to the elevator and noticed the red light on the security camera blinking. He'd never really paid attention to the security cameras before unless they were trying to figure out whether a perp might've been seen in the act of committing a crime or on their way to and from committing a crime. He'd always took them for granted that they were there but today, after meeting Kevin Millner, he could sort of appreciate why some people got paranoid, having your every move monitored with cameras. More than once, Tony had been grateful for the presence of security cameras, but Tony had never thought about his own actions being monitored. Still, Tony had no way of knowing if the security cameras so prominently in use now had anything to do with Millner's own paranoia or if it was just part of the schizophrenia and he'd be paranoid anyway. He figured the cameras probably didn't help. Idly, he wondered if all the security cameras in the world complicated the treatment of paranoid schizophrenia. He'd have to ask one of the shrinks next time he had a chance.


	4. Chapter 4

Tony got in his car and shivered involuntarily. The temperature had dropped and he watched his breath fog the windshield. He gave the engine a minute to warm up, then turned the heat to blow over his feet. God, why was he so cold? Once the car was tolerably warm, he drove slowly through the Navy Yard toward the main gate and noted the slushy roadway and frowned. The snowfall necessitated windshield wipers. Maybe this wasn't a good night to go to the Y. Might be a good night to stay home. Before reaching the gate, he pulled over and took out his cell and pressed a familiar speed dial.

"Hey Zoe, was just calling to see if you were out of work and if maybe you wanted to get some dinner. Give me a call when you can okay? Roads are getting ugly, be careful heading out." He ended the call and checked the weather. Another 5 inches were expected. He set the phone down and headed home, deciding to stop and get some Italian on the way. Such a cold snowy night after a less than stellar day warranted comfort food.

As Tony pulled out on the main road, he noted three cars behind him, a black SUV, a white Dodge and what he thought was a Toyota Camry. He drove carefully, fully focused on the road, noting when the black SUV turned off on a side street. 

He turned down another side street to avoid being on the main drag any longer and it would come up to the back parking lot of the restaurant. He noted that the Camry turned when he did. He did a double take in his rear view, not having expected to see the same vehicle still following him. Was this just a coincidence or was he actually being followed? Dividing his attention between the road in front of him and his rearview mirror, he kept a careful eye on his tail. As far as he knew he hadn't pissed anyone off lately. The FBI hadn't even accused him of murder in years. A rush of heat flooded his face as he remembered the anger he felt at being unjustly accused. Yeah, he'd been framed but still. There were few feelings worse than being accused of a terrible crime you didn't commit but the evidence pointed right at you. He felt the sweat form on his brow and he wiped it away. If the Camry driver also pulled into the restaurant, he would confront him. Thank God there were only a few blocks left. For a moment Tony thought about skipping the stop and just going home but he really didn't feel like cooking. He was tired and just wanted to relax. Plus, if the power went out with all this snow, he'd have to go back out anyway. Tony felt tired just thinking about it.

A few minutes later, Tony arrived at the restaurant and watched the Camry drive by and turn left at the stop light. Tony resisted the urge to sigh with relief as he stepped out of the car. A blast of cold greeted him and he shivered, pulling his coat closer around him as he walked quickly into the restaurant to place his order, deciding to get enough for two in case Zoe decided to go directly to his place instead of going home. If she didn't, he could always eat the rest for dinner tomorrow.

Inside, he sat at the bar and waited for his food. He was offered a drink but refused citing his need to drive on the bad roads. The bartender nodded with a small smile on his face, seemingly respecting the decision. There were a few patrons in the bar area, an almost-middle-aged couple were sipping drinks and flirting shamelessly with each other at a small table near the bar. Tony guessed they were on a second or third date. There was another man sitting at the bar and the way he tapped his glass and kept glancing at the door indicated that he was waiting for someone. He could see in the dining room, noting a few couples and a couple of singles eating dinner. Quiet night but not surprising given the weather.

Tony looked at the bottles of liquor on the tiered shelves behind the counter. Normally, he had no trouble reading the bottles' labels but tonight, they seemed a little blurry. He rubbed his eyes a little and re-focused. That was a little better. Okay, yes it had been a long day in front of a computer and getting attacked by a psychiatric patient wasn't the most stellar of days but he'd been through worse. No reason his vision should be off. He hadn't hit his head, had he?

At that moment, he felt eyes on him and he glanced up and around noting the security camera over the bar. He looked to the opposite wall and saw another one. Between both cameras, the entire bar area was covered. He tried to dismiss the eyes on him as being the security cameras but the feeling persisted. Uneasy, he looked around at the patrons. The man at the end of the bar - his gaze was set on Tony, a puzzled expression on his face. It wasn't threatening, just more curious than anything else. Tony gazed right back at him, letting anger reach his eyes, letting him know his attention was not welcome. The man frowned at him, stood up, picked up his drink and headed over to where Tony was sitting. Tony straightened in his seat and turned, his eyes narrowed.

The man stood just outside of Tony's personal space. "Are you alright?" the man asked.

"I'm fine. Why would you ask me that?"

"Look at yourself, man. Your face is flushed, you're sweaty and you look like you're about to drop."

Tony blinked in surprise. He reached up and touched his face. Okay, he did feel a little sweaty. That was odd. He felt cold, not warm. Okay, his skin felt a little warm to the touch but he didn't think it was that bad he had a fever. He didn't feel sick, just cold.

In that moment, he just wanted to get away from everyone and everything. "I'm fine," he finally said to the guy in dismissal. He felt rather than saw the man walk away thinking it was odd for a guy to do that. Okay, he could see Gibbs doing that, even a bartender, but a stranger? God, could today get any weirder?

A few minutes later, his server brought out his food and he left, grateful to get out of there. The blast of cold air hurried his footsteps as he rushed to the car, grateful to find the interior slightly warmer. He felt cold right down to his bones and couldn't wait to get home.

As Tony pulled out of the parking lot, he had to wait for a string of traffic before pulling out and still more behind him. Where did all the traffic come from? There weren't that many when he first arrived. Snow was still coming down and as the temperature dropped the roads were slushier and traffic slowed to barely 25 miles per hour. Tony could see headlights in his rearview mirror almost as far as the eye could see. He couldn't see too far ahead of him because of the snow and other cars in front of him. He knew there were at least four cars ahead of him. Cold chills tingled on his skin. He felt trapped in traffic. He didn't usually let traffic bother him but today, it was a little much. Finding a gap in the parking places on the side of the street, he pulled off into one to let the rest of the traffic go ahead of him. He breathed a sigh of relief as the cars drove past him but it was short-lived. He saw headlights shine in his rearview and looked up to see another car pull in behind him. His eyes grew wide at this. Why would someone else pull off here? All the businesses were closed now. Was he being followed?

A flash of memory of the movie he had quoted to himself earlier came back full force. _Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you._

Tony forced himself to breathe deeply and waited for the occupant of the other car to get out but the driver side door remained stubbornly closed as the driver simply waited. Because of a burned-out streetlight, there was a shadow of darkness over the other car and Tony couldn't see the driver. Wait a second though, he thought, noting the color of a car. It was white. Hadn't there been a white car earlier? Was it the same one? In the dark, he couldn't tell what make the car was. 

Thinking this might not have been the best place to stop, Tony waited until there was a gap in traffic and he pulled out again, grateful that there were several cars pulling up behind him and nowhere for the other parked car to pull in. He felt a little better for that and he drove on, noting how bright the headlights were and the glare they created. That was odd, his night vision wasn't usually this bad.

As he turned right onto a busy street, he again found someplace to pull off and he rubbed at his eyes, hoping to clear his vision. He noted he was still sweating. Fear, he reminded himself. He had had a moment of alarm back when that car parked behind him. He saw headlights again and looked in his rearview, jerking his head toward it as he did. He felt a wave of dizziness wash over him as he watched a large truck drive by, leaving him in darkness. The stream of headlights behind him intensified his dizziness. He needed to get out of the light.

He cut the engine, waited for a brief gap in traffic before he opened the car door and climbed out. He locked it as he walked to the sidewalk. He felt a rush of heat to his face, realized how incongruous that seemed given the cold temperature. There was no wind at the moment, the tall buildings around him providing some protection from it. Tony stepped back into the shadow of the building and leaned against the brick, feeling better for being out of the bright headlights. He heard a horn honk and he turned abruptly toward the noise, another wave of dizziness assaulting his senses. He slowly lowered his head, waiting for it to pass. After a minute, he slowly lifted his head and looked around. Traffic had thinned out slightly and he breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to look up and down the sidewalk and as he turned to his right, out of the corner of his eye, he saw it, the telltale red light of a security camera looking down on him. Tony did a double-take. This was the corner of a building, why would there be a security camera right there? There was no entrance here. A wave of fear clutched his brain. Maybe people who were paranoid weren't so wrong after all. Maybe Big Brother was really watching. Okay, he knew they were, that was part of his job but here? That was excessive. Nothing requiring security cameras was needed here in this spot. It was on a busy street, no entrances to buildings for around 100 feet. Tony took a deep breath, trying to calm his fraying nerves but all he could see was Kevin Millner, in his face, wild-eyed, scared and dangerous.

He had to get out of there. This was wrong. Tony turned to his right and walked briskly down the street, away from the security camera, getting ahead of oncoming traffic. He couldn't be in traffic right now. The lights were too bright. He couldn't be around people right now. They kept looking at him funny, like that man acting strangely at the restaurant. As he walked he noted how the crisp air felt good against his face. He didn't feel cold anymore. It felt good, brisk, refreshing. He smiled a little. He was safe now. As long as he kept walking, he was safe.

He didn't know how long he had walked before he heard it. The distinct sound of a footstep in slush. He turned and saw a man in a long winter coat a short distant behind him. Wait, where had he come from? Tony, always proud of being aware of his surroundings, had been caught off guard. The man's pace seemed to pick up and Tony panicked.

"No!" He yelled. "Stay away from me."

Tony ran and ran, slipping and sliding in the snow and slush. He looked behind him and could see the man in the distance, still walking the same pace but Tony was faster. He couldn't stop. If he stopped, the man would catch up. That man, whoever he was, couldn't catch up. Suddenly, Tony was reminded of Jason from Friday the 13th movies in which he walked down his victims and a fresh new wave of fear overtook him. He looked around and the headlights and streetlights were a blurry glare in his vision. He ran on, needing to get away from the man chasing him. 

Tony slipped and fell over a thick puddle of slush, landing on his belly. Cold and wet, he managed to regain his feet and ran harder, not stopping until when he looked back, he couldn't see anyone following him and he stopped to catch his breath. He looked up and around noting all the businesses, most of which were closed. The street was well lit and for a moment, Tony felt a little disoriented. Where was he? He was in the middle of a block so he couldn't see the street signs. Traffic was heavy here. Had to be a main drag. He was so cold and wet. He focused on the nearby businesses looking for a business name, somewhere to orient himself as to where he was. First thing he saw outside the nearest business was a security camera. Dammit, another one! He didn't want to be on Candid Camera right now. He felt off-kilter, cold, wet, scared and tired. Really tired. He felt the need to lay down.

"Hey Mister, are you alright?"

Tony turned 180 degrees to see a man behind him. Noting the short coat, Tony's brain realized it wasn't the same man who had been chasing him. Was this man working with him? Tony's eyes bulged at the thought and he backed away. "Hey stay away from me, man!"

"Hey, it's okay," the man said with a soft voice. "No harm, no foul. You look like you fell. Just seeing if you were okay."

"I'm fine," Tony said still backing away until he was clear of the guy, turned and ran down the street as fast as he could and didn't look back.

A few minutes later, at least he thought it was a few minutes, he heard sirens. Crap! Crap! Crap! Did that man call the police? He had to get out of there. He needed to be alone. He ran harder, turned down another street, and turned down another and another until he was out of breath and the sound of the sirens had faded. He could still hear them in the distance but he couldn't run anymore. His lungs burned and his calf muscles were screaming. He needed to get back to his car. Crap, why had he left it? Where had he left it? He needed to get back. Then, he could go home, take a hot shower and go to sleep.

The sirens blared closer again and Tony took off running, needing to get away from the noise and anymore bright lights especially brighter lights from emergency response vehicles. He ran in the direction he thought he had last parked his car. So focused on running, he hadn't noticed the temperature dropping more. He stepped in a solidifying puddle of slush and slipped, falling down hard, his arms coming up to break his fall. He felt his head bounce off his arm and he felt cold permeate his cold and then everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

Muted voices crowded his mind. Then, he smelled coffee. Gibbs. Was Gibbs here? Where was here?

Suddenly, the voices were in focus. "Ah, Jethro, I do believe Anthony is waking up."

Ducky! Gibbs! A small smile touched the corner of his lips which he realized were parched. Slowly, he opened one eye, then the other. Everything looked bright and blurry and he tried to raise his arm and realize he felt weight on his hand. He lifted the other hand easier and wiped his eyes, blinking steadily, trying to make the world come into focus. First thing he realized was the smell, it was distinctly hospital. Second thing he realized that Ducky and Gibbs were standing to his right. Ducky was smiling at him. Gibbs looked grim but as he took a moment to focus, he recognized concern in his eyes.

Tony opened his mouth to speak but his lips and mouth were so parched, he couldn't. He tried to produce saliva but he felt too dry to do it. Gibbs who was standing closest, poured a cup of water and put in a straw and held it close to Tony.

"Small sips, Tony," he instructed.

Tony gratefully obeyed and the cool, fresh water felt wonderful on his tongue. He took several more small sips until his whole mouth felt moistened and felt a little more human.

"What happened?" Tentatively, Tony started moving individual limbs, wondering if he'd been shot or stabbed again.

"Were hoping you could tell us."

They were interrupted by a nurse stepping in. "Ah good, you're awake. How are you feeling Agent DiNozzo?"

Tony looked down at his hand with the IV for a few seconds before lifting that hand slightly toward her. "Fine. You can take this out now."

"No can do," the nurse said smiling. She pointed the bag above. "You have that bag to empty and another one after it. Then, the doctor will consider taking out the IV. I will let him know you're awake. She smiled, checked his vitals and left the room again.

"What's wrong with me?" Tony asked.

"You were found unconscious, face down in a snow bank and partially in a slush pile. You had a dangerously high fever, Anthony. You were also dehydrated. You are receiving IV fluids and antibiotics for pneumonia prophylaxis. You are lucky to not have frostbite but you were found in time.

A man in a white coat entered the room smiling. "Ah, Agent DiNozzo, I'm Dr. Dale Kirshner. It's good to see you awake. You gave your friends here quite a scare. "

"Hi Doc," Tony tried to sit up in bed. "When can I get out of here?"

Dr. Kirshner laughed. "Dr. Mallard warned me you'd be chomping at the bit to leave when you woke up. Are you in any pain?"

Tony mentally assessed his body. "A little sore, I guess. Not bad. Does that mean I can go home?"

Dr. Kirshner chuckled. "Not yet. I'm afraid you have to stick around for at least today. If you do well through tomorrow morning, I will consider letting you go home tomorrow afternoon. I talked to Dr. Pitt and he advised observation for 48 hours due to your history of pneumonic plague." He chuckled. "I had to see your chart to believe he wasn't joking. You're tough to kill, Agent DiNozzo, a good trait to have in your line of work."

Tony groaned and flopped back against the pillow. "Not for lack of trying." Tony looked around his room and grimaced. "I just want to go home."

Gibbs shook his head. "Tomorrow, DiNozzo, if you don't relapse." The tone, while soft, was clearly an order.

He huffed but let the doctor examine listen to his heart and lungs and then take his blood pressure.

"Sounds good," he smiled. "Your lungs sound fine and your blood pressure and heart rate are coming down nicely. Get some rest, Agent DiNozzo. You'll need it if you want to leave tomorrow."

"I'll be ready to go," Tony avowed.

Dr. Kirshner smirked. "Call a nurse if you need anything. I will check in on you again later."

As the doctor left, another person walked in his room. 

"Zoe!" Tony smiled.

"Hey Spider, nice to see you awake." She smiled at him. She handed Gibbs and Ducky two cups of what Tony assumed were coffee and tea.

"Okay, so what happened?" Tony repeated. "Why am I in the hospital?"

"We're not quite sure, Anthony," Ducky sounded puzzled. "You were found unconscious in a freezing pile of slush on a residential street. You were on foot. Tim traced your car's GPS and it was almost 4 miles away from where you were found. We have no idea how or why you ended up where you did. A gentleman who lives on the street you ended up on found you and called 911."

"What happened after you left work, Tony?" Gibbs asked, his voice gentle.

Tony paused to take another sip of water and took a few minutes to think about it. "It was just so weird. All day yesterday after that guy attacked me, I felt like everyone was watching me. I noticed security cameras like it was the first time I'd ever seen them even though I've known they were there. I was also seeing them in places I thought there shouldn't be any. I felt like I was being followed, there was this one car, a Camry, that followed me quite a ways but when I stopped for food, he drove on. Then, I felt trapped in traffic and panicked. I never panic in traffic. That was a first. Then I was being followed on foot and people kept asking me if I was okay. And it was men who were asking. I would've expected women to ask, but men were asking. Not that it's weird for someone to care about the well-being of others but just the way they looked at me…like they weren't sure what to think of me. It felt kind of…surreal, I guess."

Gibbs was still looking at him a little curiously but Ducky's countenance was one of understanding. "Anthony, you had a fever of 103.1 when the EMTs reached you. It's possible you were hallucinating that you were being watched and followed but you weren't. You may have been flushed or sweaty with fever and why these strangers were concerned. They would see something was wrong."

"Hallucinations?" Tony repeated stupidly, doubts forming in his mind. "You mean hallucinations like schizophrenics? This doesn't mean I'm schizophrenic, does it?"

Ducky chuckled. "No, my dear boy, you're not schizophrenic though after what happened at the hospital yesterday, I can understand your concern. Very high fevers can induce hallucinations though it's not an absolute. You really should've told one of us you felt unwell."

"But I didn't, Ducky. I felt fine, well, I was sore where the guy crashed me into the wall but I didn't feel sick, I mean."

"The footprints in the snow we followed appeared that you had run quite a distance. That's why you're sore."

"Two men had followed me. One reminded me of Jason from the Friday the 13th movies."

Zoe's eyes grew wide at this. "I thought you didn't watch horror movies."

"I used to when I was younger. Now, they're just too gory. I see enough gore at work without watching them."

"I quite agree with that sentiment, Anthony."

"So two men weren't following me?"

"Anthony, it would be impossible to say. It is possible that like the car that followed you for a distance, it's possible that these men were walking in the same direction but were not purposefully following you."

"They weren't running after me. They were just walking."

"Then it was either a visual hallucination or a real person just going your way."

"Huh," Tony shook his head. "So, I'm not crazy, right? I sure felt like I was going crazy."

"No, my dear boy, you're not crazy…yet." Ducky smirked at him.

Tony smiled back but his smile turned to a yawn.

"Get some rest, Anthony. We have to get back to work but we'll be back later to check on you."

"Oh, the case! Did you figure out how Park died?" Tony was suddenly wide awake.

"Ah yes, our unfortunate Lance Corporal had a sudden cardiac arrest caused by a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It's a shame really. If it had been discovered sooner, he could've received preventative treatment and possibly prevented his death. Unfortunately, it was never discovered. There was no record of it in any of his previous physicals. 

Zoe frowned. "Excuse me, Ducky, but isn't that congenital? Wouldn't they have found that when he joined the Marines?"

"Not necessarily, my dear. Some diseases can also cause it. Abigail is currently running some blood tests in the hopes of discovering what precisely caused this since it was not discovered in time to prevent his death. Sudden cardiac arrest is not uncommon in athletic young men with the condition. Unfortunately, it was probably exacerbated by the antidepressant used to treat his PTSD and the stress caused by his experiences in Afghanistan and the PTSD symptoms. All these factors caused excessive strain on his heart."

"Huh," Tony said, realizing he was too tired to take in the medical mumbo jumbo. "So, there was no foul play."

"Does not appear to be, no."

"Oh, thank God!" Tony breathed.

All three sets of eyes were focused on him, surprised by his outburst.

Tony reddened, realizing how that must've sounded. "Sorry. It's sad he died so young. I just meant I'm glad we don't have to go back to that psych hospital and interview anyone else. Just…not in a hurry to go back there."

Gibbs rolled his eyes though Tony swore there might've been a tiny glint of amusement in his eyes. "Did you really think I'd let you back there to interview anyone after that guy attacked you?" Gibbs gently tapped the back of his head. 'Get some rest, DiNozzo. And don't even think about sneaking out of here or signing out AMA!" Gibbs ended his head tap with a slight ruffle but his order was also a warning.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Boss."

"We'll stop in after work, Anthony." Ducky smiled and said his goodbyes and followed Gibbs out.

After the men left, Zoe stepped closer and pulled the chair up by the bed and smiled at him. Tony gave her a small smile back. "Do you have to go back to work too?"

"Nope," she said as she sat down. "I'm here." She placed her hand on his arm, not squeezing on account of the IV.

"Sorry if I scared you."

"I was a little worried. Just glad you're okay."

"Was just a bad day."

"I got that. Next time you think someone is following you though, call me. If you can't reach me, call someone on your team. Don't go it alone like that. If it hadn't been rush hour, who knows how long it might've taken someone to find you."

"Yeah, I'll try to remember. I really hadn't expected…"

"I know, Spider."

"Where's Ellie and Tim and Abby?"

"They're at work. They're coming in this evening to visit. Gibbs didn't know how you would feel when you first woke up and didn't want you to be overwhelmed with company."

Tony smiled a little. Gibbs always had his six. Yeah, Ducky, Gibbs and Zoe had been enough for the moment. "Did you call my dad?"

Zoe sighed. "I didn't, no. We were so busy trying to figure out what exactly happened to you, I didn't think about it. I can call him if you want me to."

"Nah, no big deal. I'm fine. I'll tell him about it at Christmas. No point in worrying him for nothing."

Zoe nodded and smiled. "Sleep now. If I'm not right here when you wake up, I'll just be getting a drink or using the bathroom. I'll be back." She stood up, leaned down and kissed his forehead.

Tony's eyes involuntarily closed with the kiss and he yawned again, letting his eyes stay closed. At least this little adventure wouldn't ruin their Christmas, even if he did end up having to take a day or two off work. Light stroking of his fingers made him smile a little and he took comfort in Zoe's touch. He felt his body relax, knowing she had his six. The motion soothed him and he fell asleep in moments, happy that all was right with the world again, at least until the next case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to for reading my story and for comments, kudos and encouragement. This was my first attempt at writing any kind of case fic so I appreciate the support. I had a lot of fun writing this and messing with Tony's head and hope y'all have enjoyed it as well. Happy New Year everyone!


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